Purpose

The Board forms the collective strategic and operational leadership of the Department, bringing together its Ministerial and Civil Service leaders with senior non-executives from outside government.

Terms of reference

The Board is responsible for:

Planning and Performance – agreeing the Departmental Plan, especially the department’s strategic aims and objectives and the allocation of human and financial resources to achieving them, and their public expression in the Business Plan; monitoring and steering performance against the Plan; scrutinising the performance of sponsored bodies; and setting the Department’s standards and values.

Strategy and Learning – setting the vision / mission and ensuring all activities contribute towards it, either directly or through establishing a credible “licence to operate”; long-term capability and horizon scanning, ensuring that strategic decisions are based on a collective understanding of policy issues; using expertise and outside perspectives to hold the Department to account on its interaction with the 'real world'.

Resources and Change – signing off large projects or programmes, or scrutinising those above the department’s financial delegation prior to submission to the Treasury; drawing on advice from the Audit and Risk Committee, ensuring sound financial management including the operation of delegations and internal controls; ensuring that organisational design supports the attainment of strategic objectives; evaluation of the Board and its members, and succession planning.

Capability – ensuring the Department has the capability to deliver and to plan to meet current and future needs.

Risk – drawing on advice from the Audit and Risk Committee, setting the Department’s risk appetite and ensuring that effective and proportionate controls are in place to manage risk.

The Cabinet Office Board will agree and operate in accordance with a Board Operating Framework, which will reflect Government policy on good corporate governance (set out in the Government Corporate Governance Code).

Meetings

The Board will be chaired by the Minister for the Cabinet Office. The Chair may ask another Ministerial member of the Board, or the lead Non-Executive Board Member, to deputise where exceptional circumstances require it.

The Board will meet six times a year. The Chair may convene additional meetings, as deemed necessary.

A minimum of one Minister, one executive and one non-executive member of the Board will be present for the meeting to be deemed quorate.

Board members’ attendance will be published in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts.

The Board may ask any other officials to attend to assist it with its discussions on any particular matter.

The Board may ask any or all of those who normally attend but who are not members to withdraw to facilitate open and frank discussion of particular matters.

The Board will be supported by a secretariat function which will provide Board members with the information and analysis they require to carry out their duties effectively.